Shen Xiabai raised his eyes and looked calmly at Dowager Shen, who had suddenly grown agitated. He neither spoke nor moved.
Nanny Li hurriedly brought Dowager Shen a cup of tea, then smiled at Shen Xiabai. “The Dowager has been emotionally unsettled lately. The physician says it’s because she hasn’t been getting enough rest.”
“Is that so? Mother wouldn’t let A Chu come pay her respects because she didn’t want to get up so early, would she? How come I remember your sleep has always been quite good—you can sleep until the sun is high in the sky.”
Nanny Li looked awkward. “That was true before, but… well… Second Master, now that you’re married, the Dowager has been longing for a grandchild. She’s been so worried about it that she can’t sleep, isn’t that right, Dowager?”
Dowager Shen nodded with a cold expression. “In any case, the murderer absolutely cannot be Old Madam Cui.”
“Why are you so certain, Mother? Were you acquainted with her?”
“I was.” Dowager Shen said, “That old madam was a good person. If I hadn’t seen how spirited and fearless she was as a woman back then, I would have hanged myself long ago.”
“She gave me the courage to go on living. Xiabai, stop investigating what happened to your father and elder brother. Think of Yunchu. Your life is complete now. Do you really want to turn the entire household upside down because of this?”
By the time Shen Xiabai left Dowager Shen’s courtyard, it was already evening.
He stood in the courtyard and slowly turned to look back at the dimly lit room behind him, his eyes deep and unreadable.
Yu Feng stood beside him, frowning. They remained there for a full quarter of an hour before he finally said, “Master, the Dowager has already put out the lamps and gone to sleep. Aren’t you going back?”
It was only a courtyard. His master had seen it countless times since childhood, so why was he staring at it now as though something had changed?
It was almost as if Dowager Shen had passed away, and the weight of it had settled over him.
Bah, bah, bah!
Yu Feng spat several times inwardly. He hadn’t seen Xing’er all day either. She was his future wife, after all.
“Master, let’s go back. It’s cold.”
Shen Xiabai withdrew his gaze and slowly walked back to the main courtyard.
At the entrance, the steward said in a low voice, “Second Master, Madam went back to the Cui residence today. After she returned, she stayed in her room and hasn’t come out.”
Shen Xiabai gave a soft acknowledgment and stepped inside.
His gaze swept across the room before finally coming to rest on the slender figure reclining on the couch. The beautiful woman held a book in her hands. Hearing the noise, she lifted her head from the pages and smiled at him warmly and happily.
“You’re back.”
The scene overlapped with countless other times he had returned home.
He had thought she might return to the Cui residence and not come back. He had also thought she would be angry with him, shut him out, or simply refuse to speak to him.
Cui Yunchu tossed aside her book and rose. “Why are you just standing there? The servants said you went to see Mother after you came back. Have you eaten?”
Shen Xiabai stared at her and slowly shook his head.
Cui Yunchu immediately called for Xing’er to prepare supper.
She shuffled over in her slippers and went to stand beside Shen Xiabai, launching into her usual daily stream of chatter. “Do you know what I did today?”
“I went to the Wangyue Tower with Shen Zilan.”
“With whom?”
The silent Shen Xiabai seemed to have been jolted awake by some hidden switch. He instantly reacted.
“Shen Zilan. It was so exciting.”
“…”
The word “exciting” had truly excited Shen Xiabai.
“Doesn’t he live at the government office? How did you end up going with him?”
“I went to the government office to find him.”
Shen Xiabai felt a breath catch in his chest. He had guarded against every possible threat, yet had failed to guard against trouble from within his own household. He had even driven the man to the government office, and she had still managed to find him.
“What’s wrong with you?” Cui Yunchu asked, utterly baffled.
“My tutor clearly failed to teach me properly. Would you be so kind as to explain what you mean by ‘exciting’?”
Cui Yunchu: “…It just means we watched a play, and it was quite thrilling.”
Shen Xiabai raised a brow. By then, Xing’er had also brought out the dishes and set the table. Cui Yunchu pushed him toward his seat. “Eat first. I’ll tell you everything.”
Shen Xiabai sat down with a dark expression, casting displeased sidelong glances at her.
Cui Yunchu recounted everything that had happened at the Wangyue Tower. “You should have seen the looks on their faces when I kicked over the screen. The three of them just stared at one another. It was hilarious—I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.”
Shen Xiabai watched her laugh, and the corners of his lips unconsciously curved upward as well.
Then he immediately restrained the smile. “Who gave you permission to go looking for Shen Zilan?”
“Isn’t he your nephew? What’s wrong with my looking for him?”
Whenever Shen Xiabai thought of the word “exciting,” he felt thoroughly exasperated. He said nothing, merely fixing Cui Yunchu with a dark, ominous stare.
There had never been a rule in Cui Yunchu’s dictionary about not speaking during meals or in bed. After all, Shen Xiabai was busy, and the only times the two of them could properly talk were during meals and at bedtime.
She chattered on, her face animated. “You’re busy during the day, so naturally these household affairs have to be handled by me, the lady of the house. I can’t let you have worries waiting for you, can I?”
“…”
Shen Xiabai remained silent, so Cui Yunchu continued with a smile, “It’s just that… I’ll have to trouble you to clean up the mess afterward.”
After the commotion she had caused today, there was a good chance Chen Miaohe’s marriage to that man would fall through. And with Shen Zilan having exchanged his feelings with her in the process…
There was still a whole pile of trouble to deal with.
“You go,” Shen Xiabai said.
“Why?”
“Your husband has no face left to show at the Chen residence.” Going there again and again—this was getting a little too much like bullying them.
“Don’t worry, Madam. You have thick skin, and I’ll be your backing. The Chen family won’t dare say anything.”
Cui Yunchu glared at him.
“Shen Xiabai, you clearly saw that Shen Zilan liked Miss Chen. Why did you still interfere and play matchmaker, trying to marry her off to someone else? Did you even know what kind of person the man was?”
“I knew a little. His father is a smooth and worldly man, with some skill when it comes to dealing with people.”
In plain terms, he was the sort who ingratiated himself with everyone, avoided anything that might cost him, and changed sides with the wind.
“You knew that and still wanted the Chen family to marry their daughter into that household?”
Shen Xiabai lifted his eyes faintly. “Isn’t that kind of family suitable?”
“A Chu, marriages between official families aren’t entered into because the two people are in love. Miss Chen has already broken off one engagement. If she wants the sort of mutual affection she speaks of, she can’t marry above her station, and the Chen family won’t agree to her marrying below it.”
“If she marries into that household, then so long as my official position remains unchanged, they won’t treat Miss Chen poorly.”
Benefits were the most stable bond of all. As long as he had the power to ensure them, there was nothing particularly wrong with such a family.
Cui Yunchu understood what he meant. “So you really did intend for the two families to become related from the very beginning?”
“I still do. It’s only that you’ve muddied the waters.”
“Shen Zilan is your nephew. You truly don’t care about him at all?”
“Everyone has a choice to make. A person should have only one chance to decide the course of his life, yet I gave him many chances. The result was his own choice. A grown man should bear the consequences of his decisions—that’s only right.”
Shen Xiabai reached out, hooked an arm around Cui Yunchu, and pulled her onto his lap.
“A Chu, if one truly sets one’s heart on something, then nothing is impossible. If one has no heart for it, then failure is only what the person deserves.”
“Back then, everyone wanted to block my path. I was clear-minded, and I’m glad I was.”
And he was deeply grateful that, at that time, he had not hesitated in the slightest.
